Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-12-26

An Expert stenogrspher Who Gan Write
One Thing and Speak Another Stimuli
taneously.
New York Mail and Express.
CHOW long have you lived nere?"
The lawyer was taking the deposition
of witness in his Office in the Mills
building. The pencil of the stenographer
was moving rapidly over his paper, leav-
ing behind it a string of pot-hooks and
other absurd symbols of speech.
"You say that you have known the de-
PENDANT for the past ten years. Now, I
want to ask you whether at any time dur
ing that period you ever noticed any
symptom Of insanity in his behavior"
continued the lawyer.
At the instant the lawyer began this
query the stenographer turned to the re-
porter, who was seated by his side at the
table, and, without stopping his writing
for second, whispered "Wait mo-
ment and I'll be through. This won't
last much longer"
The reporter looked anxiously at the.
notes, expecting TO see the pencil stop its
travels, or least st the end of the quas-
| tons retrsce its steps to revise some
phrases incorrectly transcribed. But it
made no such break. When the lawyer
ended his inquiry the pencil stopped.
"Now, sir" continued the lawYer,"you
may tell me whether you were well
enough acquainted with the defendant
to know whether he showed any weak
ness of mind or not2" Il
Before the stenograher had completed
the second line of his report he again
| whispered to the reporter not to be in 81
hurry, and as before, concluded his work
without q particle OF apparent Interrupt
ton. This was the last question, and
after the papers were gathered together
and the witness had left the office, the
reporter asked the stenogrspher whether
he had written correctly all that was said
verbatim, or had only epitomiz d what
had been spoken.
81 wrote exactly Whist was said. Why
do you ask?"
"Csn you read it without difticulty?"
"Of course I can; otherwise | should
not be here. But why do you ask?"
81 didn't see how you could write
down what was being spoken and speak
to me upon another subject at the same
time"
"That is easy enough to do" responded
the stenographer with laugh, "when
you only know how and practice dong
enough. Short hand writing is very mucn
like playing the pisno or repeating some
thing from memory. It is mechen-
ical. found years ago, when l was re-
porting in western court, that 1t was
extremely useful to be able to hear and
think of other things transpiring in the
court room than the evidence itself. /
then began practicing so that could
train myself to do two separate things at
the same time. I would mentally make
note of everything occurring around me
and keep on with my writing. At first
would make q mistake or two, but gradu-
ally got 80 that could hear every Thing
that was said, and understood 1t, too,
Notwithstanding the fact that my pencil
was moving ell the time"
81 should think that when you began
to speak it would have thrown you off
your track"
"It did at first. l learned that by COM
hitting to memory some poem and re-
peating it while was reporting, until at
lsst could carry on conversation up'n
almost any subject and write from dicte-
tion upon one entirely different. It's
very useful accomplishment, but woufd'
not advise you to learn it unless you In
tend to become a professional stenogfa
pher, and wouldn't advise that unleas
you have nothing better to do than to-
break stonesin the streets"